Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler Review

Direct contact heatpipe technology has been around for a couple of years now. Each cooler manufacturer that uses it calls it something different but it is all the same, rather than running the heatpipes through the center of a block of copper or aluminum, the pipes are placed in an aluminum block with a channel cut into one side for each heatpipe. The pipes are flattened a little, then the whole thing is machined flat. Some are then buffed and lapped, others remain fairly rough.

The purpose for this technology is that lighter and less expensive aluminum can be used for the base rather than heavier and much more expensive copper, but the cooler still has the benefit of the much greater thermal transfer properties of copper. The end result is a lighter, less expensive cooler that performs at least as well as a solid copper base.

After doing a lot of experimenting with coolers utilizing this technology, I have found that it does work rather than just looking good on paper. Today’s cooler will be the 11th I have tested using this, and I have found that just as a copper-based cooler, it is what the manufacturer does with the remainder of the cooler that determines how well it cools.

Today I will be looking at the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler. It is a 4-heatpipe 120mm tower cooler utilizing Direct contact heatpipes. It has a brand new style of mounting hardware, one base/retainer fits all three of Intel’s mounting configurations. Will the Hyper 212 Plus keep my new LGA 1156 i7 cool? Read on to see!